Tag Archives: sports

Lalit Modi must surely be one happy man. The 3rd installment of his brainchild has become a phenomenal success. People simply can’t seem to get enough of shortened version of the game.Marketing is on in full swing. But let’s take a closer look – behind the glittering facade. Does IPL really deserve the attention it is receiving? My answer would be a humble “No”.

Why IPL sucks?? This is why 🙂

1) As any ardent cricket buff would know, IPL questions the very integrity of the original test match. The introduction of ODI’s eroded the viewership of test matches.And it looks like History would certainly repeat itself with the IPL threatening to destroy ODI’s. And whats worse is that cricket has now been reduced to a 3 hour bollywood movie! You even have cheerleaders who provide the bollywood item number effect.

2) Cricket is no longer the Gentleman’s game. In fact it has turned into a an ugly commercial venture with players being auctioned like objects.
Remember the first installment of IPL when Mr.Vijay Mallya publicly lashed out at his team for their poor performance? Pressure from all sides is bound to take a toll on the players. And with just a break of 5 days after the IPL, they are expected to gear up for the upcoming T-20 World cup! Phew!!

3) The talk of recognizing young talents in India through the IPL is just a myth. Why do we have foreign players in an “Indian” Premier League? Really Mr.Modi, why can’t the IPL have only Indian players??
Give a chance to hundreds of youngsters playing gully cricket, who struggle for fame, for recognition. Give the veterans of the Indian Cricket team a well deserved break. The gross injustice done to players of Indian origin is evident from the “price tag” that is fixed on them. An Indian player gets a meagre salary compared to his foreign counterpart, that too in a tournament hosted by India. Isn’t this unfair?

4) The money that is being generated in IPL-3 has been the highest so far! Experts estimate that the tax from this event will cross 500+ crores! When huge amounts of cash are being traded, I feel that the organizers have a social responsibility to fulfill. Why not invest a portion of the money in funding new talents in the game? Why not lend a helping hand to the forgotten sportsmen who had brought laurels to our country?

Gone are the days when cricket used to be a simple bat-n-ball game. Gone are the days when an occasional century from a stalwart was held with awe. The IPL has transformed cricket into an ugly 3 hr extravaganza! And I’m clearly not enjoying this!